Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

Personal Power Tactics African American Female Superintendents Employ To Overcome Four Identified Self-Sabotaging Behaviors, Angela Brantley

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed-method study was to identify and describe personal power tactics that African American female superintendents employ to overcome the four identified self-sabotaging behaviors from the Self Sabotaging Framework adapted from Lerner (2012), Ryder and Briles (2003).

Methodology: This study identified and described the lived experiences of seven female African American superintendents across the United States. This research design encompassed a sequential data collection method using an electronic survey instrument, followed by one-on-one interviews. Based on the quantitative and qualitative data, the researcher was able to triangulate data using the trends, categories, and patterns …

Exploring Grit In Exemplary School Superintendents, Denise Jaramillo

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and describe how exemplary superintendents use five principles associated with grit (courage, conscientiousness, long-term goals, resilience, and excellence versus perfection) to accomplish extraordinary results in their organizations.

Methodology: This qualitative study was part of a larger thematic study conducted by nine doctoral candidates under the supervision of three University of Massachusetts Global faculty. The study used a phenomenological design to identify and describe how exemplary superintendents use five principles associated with grit to accomplish extraordinary results. Data were gathered through a combination of eight semistructured interviews, related observations, and a …

Strategies Superintendents Use To Build Leadership Capacity With Executive Teams, Andrew Leonard Giannini

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative, multiple case study was to describe how exemplary superintendents build leadership capacity with their executive teams using Kirtman’s (2014) Seven Competencies for School Leadership.

Methodology: This multiple case study used purposeful criterion sampling and recommendations from a panel of experts to identify seven superintendents throughout the United States to participate in the study. Each superintendent was interviewed with questions developed and field-tested by the researcher and provided artifacts. Collected data was coded using case-based, cross-case analysis to identify themes in how superintendents build leadership capacity with their executive teams.

Findings: The findings identified 21 …

How Exemplary Female Superintendents Use Six Sources Of Influence To Achieve Extraordinary Results, Cheryl Sosa

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and explore how exemplary female superintendents who have achieved extraordinary results influence employees through personal motivation, personal ability, social motivation, social ability, structural motivation, and structural ability.

Methodology: This phenomenological study identified and explored how 11 exemplary female superintendents who have achieved extraordinary results influence employees through personal motivation, social motivation, structural motivation, personal ability, social ability, and structural ability to achieve extraordinary results. Respondents were chosen from exemplary female superintendents in three Southern California counties who met the study criteria. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and artifacts. Data …

Superintendent Transitions: Planning For The Expected, Jennifer Wildman

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative and illustrative multiple case study was to identify and describe succession planning strategies utilized by six K-12 California public school districts of 1,000 to 10,000 enrollment that have experienced superintendent transitions within the previous 3 years during three stages—Prepare, Pivot, Thrive—of executive succession and transition management (Adams, 2006).

Methodology: The population consisted of 1,022 districts with a target population of 213 districts. Participants (superintendents, cabinet members, board members) were chosen through purposive and convenience sampling.

Findings: Five common themes emerged: (a) communication, (b) seeking input, (c) relationship-building, (d) strategic planning, and (e) stabilizing the …

Trust And Leadership: How Exemplary Superintendents Build Successful Principal Teams In Elementary School Districts, Louann Carlomagno

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and describe behaviors exemplary superintendents practice during leadership team meetings to build and maintain trust with their principals based on the facets of trust defined by Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (benevolence, reliability, competency, honesty, and openness).

Methodology: The qualitative use of phenomenology was utilized in this study. Respondents were able to tell their stories, providing semistructured feedback in order for the researcher to gain a deeper understanding of trust building during leadership team meetings. The researcher interviewed 16 principals from Sonoma and San Mateo Counties.

Findings: Examination of qualitative data from …

The Impact Of Male Gender Dissonance On Women’S Potential Eligibility For Advancement To K-12 Public School Superintendent, Mona Lee Montgomery

Dissertations

Purpose:The purpose of this phenomenological replication study was to discover what behaviors female administrators exhibit that may prompt male administrators with whom they work with in California public educationto demonstrate behaviors associated with gender dissonanceand to discover any impact these dissonant behaviors may have on women’s potential eligibility for advancement to the position of K-12 school superintendent.

Methodology:This qualitative phenomenological replication study explored the experiences of seven female and seven male K-12 public school superintendents in Orange, San Diego, and Riverside Counties in California. Respondents were selected based on delimiting criteria and a purposive criterion sampling method. …

The Role Of Leadership In School Innovation: A Case Study, Savannah Adkins Denning

Dissertations

Expansive research on leadership, particularly school leadership, has suggested leaders have an indirect impact on student outcomes, as leaders build a school’s academic capacity, which elevates teaching and learning (Hallinger, 2010). Though there is significant empirical research regarding school leadership, there is a lack of research investigating the intersection of leadership and innovation. In terms of innovation, “personalized learning,” has become an emerging topic among education researchers, as scholars seek to understand the potential impact personalized learning strategies have on student outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to explore how leadership interacts with innovation. This study specifically explored the …

The Superintendent As Transformational Leader: A Case Study Analysis Of The Strategies, Initiatives And Processes Used By Superintendents Of Exemplar 21st Century School Districts To Implement District-Wide Change For The 21st Century, Rebecca A. Summers

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify and describe the visions, frameworks, strategies, initiatives and change models used by eight superintendents of exemplar 21st century school districts as designated by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, in order to successfully implement a district-wide 21st century learning model. Semi-structured interviews were used to provide rich narratives of the superintendents’ experiences with the transformational change processes in their districts as they implemented 21st century models of education. The interviews were coded and analyzed for common themes and patterns. The findings revealed that although the superintendents were system thinkers about …

The Effects Of The 2008 Financial Recession On Superintendents’ Leadership And Decision Making, Elizabeth Ann Mcnamara

Dissertations

This dissertation explored the possible effects that the 2008 financial recession might have had on superintendents' leadership and decision-making. A great deal of scholarship has addressed the effects of the 2008 financial recession as well as educational leadership, however, few studies have investigated the direct impact of the 2008 financial recession on superintendent's leadership.

The study answers the following research questions:

1. According to superintendents whose tenure included years 2007 to the

present day, what considerations did they bring into their decision making

regarding reductions within their school district?

a. What considerations were made regarding reductions in the

area of …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of Superintendents’ And Principals’ Experiences In A Shared Professional Development Process, John R. Severson

Dissertations

For this qualitative study, I explored and described how superintendents and principals interpreted and experienced a sustained professional development process focusing on instruction and student learning, a form of Elmore’s Superintendents in the Classroom (SITC) Network. Specifically, I examined how the addition of principals in the SITC learning model experience changed the superintendents’ and principals’ knowledge and beliefs as well as their behavior in three areas: their individual experiences, the working relationship between superintendent and principal, and the way they now think about and encourage student learning.

For this phenomenological study, superintendents and principals were selected and individually interviewed from …

The Rebel Leader: A Sequential Explanatory Mixed Methods Analysis Of Rebel Superintendents In Suburban Public Schools, Christopher Leigh Finch

Dissertations

The term rebel is virtually nonexistent in academic literature within the field of educational leadership and maintains a generally negative connotation. This research is intended to cast the term in a new light and allow for conceptualization of the word as a positive descriptor for educational leaders. This study explored the impact and efficacy of rebel superintendents within suburban K-12 public school districts. Following a sequential explanatory mixed method design, participant selection was conducted using the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI) as a quantitative participant selection tool. Nine superintendents were identified using the KAI and interviewed. Three superintendents were identified as …

Superintendent Leadership And Student Achievement In Suburban High Schools: A Sequential Explanatory Mixed Methods Analysis, Steven Reese Kellner

Dissertations

This research study explored the critical nature of the connection between student achievement and superintendent leadership. A great deal of scholarship has addressed either student achievement or leadership and previous evidence has suggested the impact of both parental education and racioethnicity on student achievement, but few studies have investigated the relationship between the superintendent's leadership authority and the achievement of his or her students.

The central research questions of this study are:

1) To what degree does parental education predict high school student achievement in suburban Chicagoland?

2) To what degree does racioethnicity predict high school student achievement in suburban …